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$1 million fire in downtown Fort Erie

A family-owned dry cleaning business in Fort Erie was gutted by fire Sunday night.

Nine trucks and more than three dozen Fort Erie firefighters battled the intense blaze on Jarvis St. in downtown that was fuelled by customers' clothing.

As his crews on ladders were spraying down hotspots about two and a half hours after the fire started, Fire Chief Larry Coplen said damage would likely top $1 million.

“It doesn't take long to add up,” he said.

Because of the damage value, Ontario's Office of the Fire Marshal is required to investigate and Coplen said they were expected on scene Monday morning.

The first call came in at 7:02 p.m. for the fire at Pikes Dry Cleaners at 93 Jarvis St. near Central Ave. As the first trucks arrived on scene, flames were shooting out of the front windows of the building.

“The crews could see the smoke from the Central station before they arrived,” Coplen said.

The building was unoccupied at the time of the fire and there were no injuries reported, though it took more than two hours to get the blaze under control.

While Pikes Dry Cleaners was completely destroyed, an empty storefront to the left and an under-renovation restaurant to the right also sustained some damage.

“We're trying to figure out (how much damage) now,” Coplen said Sunday. “We've got crews up on the roof checking for extension into those buildings, but it doesn't look to be too extensive.”

That was little consolation to Edison and Julia Rodriguez, who own the building that houses the Sub Culture restaurant.

“We'll just have to wait and see what the damage is in the morning,” Julia Rodriguez said.

The couple doesn't own the sub business, but said the store closed in July after a small fire inside caused significant smoke damage.

Rodriguez said the interior had been repainted and repaired and the business was nearly ready to open.

“And then we got this call today,” she said.

The owners of the Pikes Dry Cleaners were also on scene Sunday night and stood by embracing each other as they watched the building burn.

They wouldn't comment when approached by a reporter.

Sunday's fire comes five weeks after the Colonial Cleaners dry cleaning business on Lundy's Lane in Niagara Falls was also destroyed by fire. The Office of the Fire Marshal is still investigating that blaze, which was estimated to be worth around $1 million.

Coplen said in spite of the two fires, there's no reason to think dry cleaners are at a higher risk for fires.

“We haven't had any issues with them here,” he said.

There were, however, tanks of chemicals in the building that firefighters were trying to protect and Coplen said other contents inside were a problem.

“Just the actual synthetics in the clothing burning can be an issue,” he said.